by C. Morgan
“I was very happy with you being naked all day yesterday,” he said. “And whatever you are working on isn’t going anywhere.”
“How did it go with Kenny?” I asked him.
“Fine. We didn’t kill each other, if that’s what you are worried about.”
“Not at all.”
He came around to lean against my desk and looked down at me. “Are you upset with me?”
“About?”
“Because I kissed you in front of him,” he answered.
I thought about it for a second. “I’m not upset with you, but I do hope you know that you can’t just kiss me anytime someone flirts with me.”
“Can’t I?”
“Ryker, do you trust me?”
“Yes,” he answered without hesitation.
“Good, because I want you to feel flattered when you see someone hitting on me. I want you to think to yourself that they want what you have.”
He smiled. “I am proud that you are on my arm, but I don’t necessarily want guys hitting on you.”
“But you trust me not to flirt back or take them up on their flirting.”
He nodded. “I do.”
“I just want to make sure you know that when I’m with you, I’m with you alone. I don’t cheat. I don’t want anyone else. I only want you.”
He bent forward and kissed me. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
“I’m glad I can make you happy. Just remember this when we are at the next game and there are other guys that might want to flirt.”
He curled his lip. “I really don’t like that idea.”
“I really don’t like the idea of women flirting with you either,” I told him. “I guess we are both going to have to start wearing signs declaring we are spoken for.”
“I’ll call a company today,” he said.
“To have signs made?”
“Yep.”
I slapped his leg. “Get out of here. I have to work. My boss is kind of strict.”
“I could talk to him,” he said with a grin. “I bet he would be willing to negotiate if you were to offer something.”
“What would I have to offer?” I asked coyly.
“A kiss? A quickie? A handjob?”
I burst into laughter. “Get out of here.”
He was laughing as he walked out. I shook my head. I was in trouble with this one.
Epilogue
Ryker
Once again, I was pacing my room. I was going to need to replace the carpet. All because of a woman. A woman was turning me inside out.
It wasn’t a bad thing, but she made me want more. I wanted more but I was afraid to go after it. Rejection was always in the back of my mind. I had no real reason to fear rejection, but it was always a possibility.
There was only one person I trusted to give me sound advice. I checked the time. It was early but that was too bad. This was his fault.
“Why are you calling me at seven o’clock in the morning?” Ryan complained.
“Because you owe me.”
“Owe you what?” he asked with a yawn.
“Advice, I need some advice.”
“Right now?” he groaned.
“I’m up, you’re up.”
“What do you need?” I heard Naya mumble something.
“I need to talk to you. Alone.”
“I’m in bed with my wife.”
“Ryan,” I hissed.
“Dammit.” I heard more quiet talking before he came back on the line. “Is this about Trinity?”
“Yes.”
He cursed. “Did you already screw this up? Do you know what this is going to do to me and my marriage? I thought you guys were getting along really well. What happened? Did you cheat on her?”
“Slow down,” I said. “I did not cheat on her. We are getting along very well.”
“Thank god,” he said. “I was going to kick your ass.”
“Very funny. Things are great. Really great. I want her to move in with me.”
“Shit, that’s fast.”
“I know,” I agreed. “It’s fast but I am not going to be with anyone else. I don’t want anyone else. I think she feels the same way.”
He yawned again. “Why am I a part of this conversation?”
“How do I tell her I want her to move in with me without scaring her off?”
“I think you start with words,” he said with a laugh.
“I really hate you.”
“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told you before,” he said. “Use your words. Didn’t it work well last time?”
“Yes, but that was to get her to go out with me. This is asking her to move in with me. This is a big deal. I can’t just use my words.”
“Sure, you can.”
“How did you get Naya to move in with you?” I asked.
He laughed. “I married her.”
“Oh.”
“Should I schedule an appointment with a jeweler?” he teased.
“No. I’m going. You’ve been no help.”
“Use your words,” he said and hung up.
He made it sound like it was so easy. I just barely got her to agree to drop the rules. I could kiss her at work. We could flirt and stay in the same room on our away games. We didn’t have to keep up pretenses. Everyone knew we were together.
I went into work with my next move on my mind. I didn’t want her to think I was pushing her into anything. This had to be a mutual decision. I just needed to figure out how to gently push her into the right decision.
Trinity came into my office a bit later. She looked upset. “Hi, babe,” she said and gave me a chaste kiss before flopping down in the other chair.
“Something wrong?” I asked her.
“Yes. My landlord sold my building.”
“What does that mean?”
“He’s tearing the building down. This is what they mean by gentrification. Some developer bought the whole block. It’s probably going to be a strip mall. All of the tenants got thirty-day notices. Can you believe that? Who does that? He just kicked out like a hundred people.”
This was my moment. I was glad I didn’t waste too much time thinking about how to get her into my house. “I’m going to say something, and I don’t want you to be mad.”
“What?”
“Move in with me.”
“Ryker.”
“No,” I said. “I want you to move in with me. We spend a lot of time together anyway. You spend at least three or four nights a week there. Move in.”
She looked pained. “Ryker, that’s hasty.”
“It isn’t. I wanted you to move in with me before I even knew about this. We’re in love and we’re going to be together. It’s a waste of money and valuable time together to have you across town in your apartment.”
She was staring at me with wide eyes. “What did you say?”
“I said I want you to move in. I want to wake up with you every morning.”
“No, not that part! The part about the in-love thing. Are we in love?”
I thought about if for a second. “I am.”
“You’ve never said that before.”
“I guess I just kind of realized it,” I said with my own surprise and shock to hear those words come out of my mouth.
“Are you in love with me?” she asked quietly.
I got out of my chair and walked around the desk. I grabbed her hand and pulled her to a standing position. “I am so in love with you,” I confessed.
A smile spread over her face. “I love you.”
I kissed her. “You love me, and I love you, so why not move in?”
“Are you just offering to do this because you feel bad for me?”
“Nope,” I said with a shake of my hand. “I don’t feel bad for you because I want you to share my house with me. I want to make it our house. You’ve seen my house. There is nothing to feel bad about.”
“Arrogant much?” she teased. “What if—”
&
nbsp; I put a finger to her lips. “There is no what if. I’m going to be with you for as long as you’ll have me. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Are you sure this isn’t happening too fast?”
“It’s happening exactly as it should,” I said. “You changed me. I’m a reformed playboy. They say a leopard can’t change its spots, but I have. You did that. When I met you, everything changed. I’m so much happier than I ever thought I could be.”
“I’m happy for you, but is this really what you want? Moving is no joke. I’ve already had to do it once too many times these last few months. I don’t want to move in and have this fizzle out. Then I have to move again.”
I sighed and took her hands in mine. “This is not going to fizzle out. How many different ways do I need to tell you that? I will do whatever you want me to do.”
She was quiet for several seconds. “Is this really happening?” she asked. Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears.
“I hope it’s happening. I am yours. I want you to be a part of my life.”
She threw her arms around me. “You are crazy!” she said with a laugh. “Are we both crazy?”
“I think we are just crazy enough,” I said. “We know what we want.”
She kissed me again. It gave a whole new meaning to being sealed with a kiss.
“I have to tell Naya,” she said.
“Can I call a mover?” I asked her. I was anxious to make the move happen right away.
She shrugged. “I guess. There’s nothing keeping me at the apartment. It isn’t like I have any pets or plants to move.”
We both laughed. “Good point. I’ll make the call. You call Naya.”
“What about your parents?” she asked. “Do you think they will object?”
I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure why they would object and I’m not sure they have any room to object. It’s my house and I’m a big boy.”
“But your mom probably thinks I’m after you for your money.”
“Are you?”
“No,” she said.
“My mom doesn’t give a shit about my money. If she thought you were bad for me, she wouldn’t have encouraged me to go after you. She likes you.”
“I like her. I hope we can get to know each other better.”
“We’ll have dinner with her on Sunday. We’ll tell them we are moving in together then.”
She nodded and breathed a long sigh of relief. “You know, when I got up this morning and saw that notice on my door, I thought it was going to be the worst day ever. It is turning out to be the best day ever.”
She left my office. I sat back down in my chair. “Problem solved,” I said with a laugh.
Now, I needed to work on the final step to my seduction of Trinity Johnson. I was going to marry the woman. I would prefer to marry her tomorrow, but I didn’t think she would be quite ready to accept that proposal.
She was going to be my wife. We were going to have a family together. We would have birthday parties for our kids with Naya and Ryan’s kids coming over. I was going to give Trinity a family. She wasn’t going to be alone anymore.
I picked up my phone and called Ryan again. “Now I’m awake,” he said. “This is an appropriate time to call a person.”
“I did it.”
“I’m afraid to ask,” he said. “That is not a statement I want to hear from you especially.”
“Trinity is moving in with me.”
“No shit! Damn, you move fast. What is the hurry?”
“I know what I want,” I said. “I’m going to marry her.”
“Does she know this?”
“Not yet, but she will soon enough,” I said with a laugh.
I heard a scream on his end. “I’m going to guess Trinity just told Naya,” he said dryly.
“Probably. Don’t get fat. You’ll be wearing a tux in about six months if I have my way.”
“You know, you really need to work on your delivery.”
“It’s worked for me this far,” I said and ended the call.
I heard more squealing in the hall. That was Alysha. I was going to assume Trinity just told her. I was glad she was so happy. There was a knock on my office door before it opened. Nick walked in. “There is a lot of squealing out there,” he said. “Did you propose?”
“Not yet. She’s moving in.”
“Wow,” he said with a surprised look. “Didn’t you just start dating?”
“Yep, but when a man knows what he wants and he finds the perfect woman, he doesn’t risk her getting away.”
“Congrats. When’s the wedding?”
He was teasing. I wasn’t. “As soon as she says yes.”
He was laughing when he walked out. Everyone thought I was crazy. The way I saw it, my life had led me to this point. All those women I dated led me to her. After kissing a hundred wrong ones, I knew when I found the right one. She was the woman for me. My parents had always been big proponents of strong marriages. They always told us to wait for the right one. They cautioned us against marrying without knowing for certain. They weren’t overly religious but their values were just as strong.
Marriage was for life. They didn’t believe in quitting. I wasn’t going to quit on Trinity. I had no doubt in my mind there would be hard times. I was ready for those hard times. The reward of sticking it out was too much to risk.
“I told everyone,” Trinity said as she walked back into my office.
“I heard.”
She closed my office door and locked it before slowly walking toward me. Much to my shock, she pulled off her shirt and dropped it on the floor. Next, she undid the buttons on her pants and pushed them down. She came around the desk and sat down directly in front of me.
“Trinity,” I said her name.
“Shh,” she whispered. She grabbed me by the front of my shirt and pulled me up, out of my chair. “I need you to make love to me.”
“Right here?” I asked before undoing my own pants.
“Right now,” she answered. She reached up and pulled me to her for a kiss that damn near knocked my socks off.
The End
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About the Author
Chloe is a hometown girl from Tennessee who loves a great short romance, drinking coffee most of the day, and hanging out with family. When she's not writing, she can be found playing the piano or surfing Facebook!
Having been a reader all her life, she's hoping that you'll find yourself lost to time, laughing and falling in love all over again with her books.
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Can’t Make This Up
Copyright © 2021 by C. Morgan.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.
Editor: Eric Martinez
Cover Designer: Ryn Katryn Digital Art
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